A Day in the life…

So after a day of sewing, gluing, and programing, our first major project attempt (pictured to the left) didn’t really work.  About half the lights worked! … but what can you do with that?  We tried all kind of things to fix it, but it was useless… we had tried to cram to many “wires” into to small of a space.  We then decided to start over (we actually sketched and planned it out first on paper ).  Our masterpiece (pictured to the right) not only knows over 7 different entertaining light displays, but can sing Mary Had a Little Lamb, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Greensleeves .  Win. 

OMG!!!  So.  A very key factor to getting the program uploaded from the computer to the LilyPad is that you press upload and THEN reset (instructions stated otherwise).  It was an accident that figured it out, but craziness… program blink works now!!!  Whooo hooo!  Now just to get the RGB LED program working, lol .

(1)  Pleos!

These things are so cute!  I don’t know why I like playing with them so much… they’re just..cute!  They’re like little puppy dogs… the feighned intellegence making some of it’s actions adorably fun.

(2)  Wearable Computers

So one of my jobs/responsibilities at ICE (when I’m not helping out with camps, teacher workshops, paperwork, resetting kits, or other misc. responsibilities) is experimenting with a “new” wearable computer technology.

LilyPad is a wearable e-textile technology developed by Leah Buechley and cooperatively designed by Leah and SparkFun. Each LilyPad was creatively designed to have large connecting pads to allow them to be sewn into clothing. Various input, output, power, and sensor boards are available. They’re even washable!

I’m really excited to be able to work on this project.  It’s actually really interesting and the potential for the product is crazy.  It’s just… for some reason I’m stuck trying to get the program onto the LilyPad.  It’s kind of key .

(1)  Kids These Days

This past week, I helped with a camp for rising 6th-8th graders.  I love working with little kids.  They’re so funny sometimes… and creative!  But on another note… o.m.g.  … kids these days.  I feel so old watching them play on there i-phones or flirting.  6th grade! … and several of them have i-phones!  I didn’t get my first phone until I was 18!  It’s another generation I guess.  I feel old .

(2)  Drink Wars

Kids will be kids.  Thursday at lunch, I witnessed something that happens every year in some camp, no matter how you try to stop it:  girls vs. boys drink sabotage (I know that sounds weird, but hear me out).  At lunch, we give the kids lunch cards with $8 on it and take them to the GT student center for lunch (there they can get all kinds of things, such as Chinese food, Chic-fil-a, Burger King, Pizza Hut, something from the hot-line, something from the salad bar, etc.).  I was eating lunch when one of the little camp boys ran up to me saying, “Candis Candis, I have to tell you the coolest thing!  (Name) is throwing up from being tricked into drinking the weird drink the girls gave him.  It had coke, crushed chips, ice cream, Tabasco sauce, Wasabi sauce, soy sauce, salt, pepper… you should have seen what we put in THEIR drink!”  Needless to say, it was an interesting lunch.

It’s really kind of funny working with teachers at the workshops (ages 30+) one day and then summer camp kids (4-5th grade camps, 6-8th grade camps, and 9-12th grade camps) who are learning the same technology the next day.  Each group has different strengths and weaknesses and it’s interesting to note them.  Sometimes however, it’s just more amusing to pay attention to the similarities instead ;P.

Small kids are generally more creative.  I’m not sure why… maybe it’s just they haven’t felt the burdens of “grown-up” life and therefore are more free to venture… everywhere.  From engineering crazy carnival rides to spinning, light-up lanterns and video games full of mischievous glamor, kids really do explore it all.  Teachers on the other hand (especially the older ones) tend to follow the step by step instructions and are less likely to explore outside the box.

Also, sometimes it’s just easier to teach younger kids.  When I first took this job, I thought it was going to be the complete opposite.  Teachers know to listen to you, right?  Wrong.  Most teachers are teachers, period.  They like to be more in control of the situation and don’t always like to admit they’re wrong.  I’m not saying that little kids like to be corrected.  It’s just sometimes harder to convince an older person that’d they’re wrong.

Also, kids and teenagers are just more used to computing.  They know how to drag and drop, cut and paste, … believe it or not, there were some teachers and the workshops who didn’t know how to draw a pumpkin with paint! … and they’re the ones training to become computing teachers.  I give them props though.  They’re really trying.  I mean… they REALLY try.  It may be harder to grasp something, but they don’t give up.  It’s a great thing that they’re aspireing to do.  Yay teachers!